things fall apart okonkwo tragic hero essay

• Things Fall Apart

Chinua Achebe

• Literature Notes
• Book Summary
• About Things Fall Apart
• Character List
• Summary and Analysis
• Part 1: Chapter 1
• Part 1: Chapter 2
• Part 1: Chapter 3
• Part 1: Chapter 4
• Part 1: Chapter 5
• Part 1: Chapter 6
• Part 1: Chapter 7
• Part 1: Chapter 8
• Part 1: Chapter 9
• Part 1: Chapter 10
• Part 1: Chapter 11
• Part 1: Chapter 12
• Part 1: Chapter 13
• Part 2: Chapter 14
• Part 2: Chapter 15
• Part 2: Chapter 16
• Part 2: Chapter 17
• Part 2: Chapter 18
• Part 2: Chapter 19
• Part 3: Chapter 20
• Part 3: Chapter 21
• Part 3: Chapter 22
• Part 3: Chapter 23
• Part 3: Chapter 24
• Part 3: Chapter 25
• Character Analysis
• Reverend James Smith
• Character Map
• Chinua Achebe Biography
• Critical Essays
• Major Themes in Things Fall Apart
• Use of Language in Things Fall Apart
• Full Glossary for Things Fall Apart
• Essay Questions
• Cite this Literature Note

Character Analysis Okonkwo

The protagonist of Things Fall Apart , Okonkwo is also considered a tragic hero. A tragic hero holds a position of power and prestige, chooses his course of action, possesses a tragic flaw, and gains awareness of circumstances that lead to his fall. Okonkwo's tragic flaw is his fear of weakness and failure.

In his thirties, Okonkwo is a leader of the Igbo community of Umuofia. Achebe describes him as "tall and huge" with "bushy eyebrows and [a] wide nose [that gives] him a very severe look." When Okonkwo walks, his heels barely touch the ground, like he walks on springs, "as if he [is] going to pounce on somebody." Okonkwo "stammers slightly" and his breathing is heavy.

Okonkwo is renowned as a wrestler, a fierce warrior, and a successful farmer of yams (a "manly" crop). He has three wives and many children who live in huts on his compound. Throughout his life, he wages a never ending battle for status; his life is dominated by the fear of weakness and failure. He is quick to anger, especially when dealing with men who are weak, lazy debtors like his father. However, Okonkwo overcompensates for his father's womanly (weak) ways, of which he is ashamed, because he does not tolerate idleness or gentleness. Even though he feels inward affection at times, he never portrays affection toward anyone. Instead, he isolates himself by exhibiting anger through violent, stubborn, irrational behavior. Okonkwo demands that his family work long hours despite their age or limited physical stamina, and he nags and beats his wives and son, Nwoye, who Okonkwo believes is womanly like his father, Unoka.

Okonkwo is impulsive; he acts before he thinks. Consequently, Okonkwo offends the Igbo people and their traditions as well as the gods of his clan. Okonkwo is advised not to participate in the murder of Ikefemuna, but he actually kills Ikefemuna because he is "afraid of being thought weak." When the white man brings Christianity to Umuofia, Okonkwo is opposed to the new ways. He feels that the changes are destroying the Igbo culture, changes that require compromise and accommodation — two qualities that Okonkwo finds intolerable. Too proud and inflexible, he clings to traditional beliefs and mourns the loss of the past.

When Okonkwa rashly kills a messenger from the British district office, his clansmen back away in fear; he realizes that none of them support him and that he can't save his village from the British colonists. Okonkwo is defeated. He commits suicide, a shameful and disgraceful death like his father's.

Previous Chapter 25

Home — Essay Samples — Literature — Tragic Hero — Analysis Of Okonkwo As A Tragic Hero

Analysis of Okonkwo as a Tragic Hero

• Categories: Chinua Achebe Things Fall Apart Tragic Hero

About this sample

Words: 696 |

Published: Feb 8, 2022

Words: 696 | Pages: 2 | 4 min read

• Jeyifo, B. (1993). Okonkwo and his mother: Things Fall Apart and issues of gender in the constitution of African postcolonial discourse. Callaloo, 16(4), 847-858. (https://www.jstor.org/stable/2932213)
• Adade-Yeboah, A. (2016). The tragic hero of the modern period–The African concept. (http://ir.csuc.edu.gh:8080/xmlui/handle/123456789/439)
• Iyasere, S. O. (1990). Okonkwo and the Execution of Ikemefuna in Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart: A Study of Ignoble Decisiveness. English Studies in Africa, 33(2), 131-142. (https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00138399008690874?journalCode=reia20)
• Okolie, M. J., & Uzoma, G. C. (2019). Okonkwo’s reincarnation: a comparison of Achebe’s Things fall apart and No longer at ease. (http://scholar.sun.ac.za/handle/10019.1/123478)
• Dannenberg, H. (2009). The many voices of Things fall apart. Interventions, 11(2), 176-179. (https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/THE-MANY-VOICES-OF-THINGS-FALL-APART-Dannenberg/84051cf8deb2b206360677e6e0963828d347ceac)

Should follow an “upside down” triangle format, meaning, the writer should start off broad and introduce the text and author or topic being discussed, and then get more specific to the thesis statement.

Provides a foundational overview, outlining the historical context and introducing key information that will be further explored in the essay, setting the stage for the argument to follow.

Cornerstone of the essay, presenting the central argument that will be elaborated upon and supported with evidence and analysis throughout the rest of the paper.

The topic sentence serves as the main point or focus of a paragraph in an essay, summarizing the key idea that will be discussed in that paragraph.

The body of each paragraph builds an argument in support of the topic sentence, citing information from sources as evidence.

After each piece of evidence is provided, the author should explain HOW and WHY the evidence supports the claim.

Should follow a right side up triangle format, meaning, specifics should be mentioned first such as restating the thesis, and then get more broad about the topic at hand. Lastly, leave the reader with something to think about and ponder once they are done reading.

Cite this Essay

Let us write you an essay from scratch

• 450+ experts on 30 subjects ready to help
• Custom essay delivered in as few as 3 hours

Get high-quality help

Prof. Kifaru

Verified writer

• Expert in: Literature

+ 120 experts online

By clicking “Check Writers’ Offers”, you agree to our terms of service and privacy policy . We’ll occasionally send you promo and account related email

No need to pay just yet!

Related Essays

2 pages / 1105 words

2 pages / 1071 words

2 pages / 972 words

3 pages / 1431 words

Remember! This is just a sample.

You can get your custom paper by one of our expert writers.

121 writers online

Still can’t find what you need?

Browse our vast selection of original essay samples, each expertly formatted and styled

Related Essays on Tragic Hero

Hamlet, is one of the most celebrated works in English literature, and the character of Hamlet himself is often considered one of the most complex and enigmatic figures in all of drama. The play revolves around the central [...]

The character of Macbeth is a complex and multi-dimensional one, and his journey from a noble and valiant warrior to a power-hungry and corrupted tyrant is a compelling one. This essay will analyze the character of Macbeth and [...]

Macbeth is a classic tragedy that explores the downfall of the titular character, Macbeth, as he is driven to commit acts of murder and tyranny in order to fulfill his ambition. At the heart of Macbeth's tragic journey is his [...]

Hamlet is a timeless and renowned tragedy that continues to captivate audiences and scholars alike. The play’s complexity and depth have led to numerous interpretations and analyses, with one of the central themes being the [...]

Okonkwo's tragic flaw can be identified as his excessive pride and fear of failure. From a young age, Okonkwo was determined to prove himself as a successful and powerful man, in stark contrast to his father, who was seen as [...]

From the very title of this historical fiction novel, Things Fall Apart, composed by Chinua Achebe, it foreshadows the tragedy which is triggered by the tragic hero. Defined by Aristotle, an ancient Greek philosopher, a tragic [...]

Related Topics

By clicking “Send”, you agree to our Terms of service and Privacy statement . We will occasionally send you account related emails.

Where do you want us to send this sample?

By clicking “Continue”, you agree to our terms of service and privacy policy.

Be careful. This essay is not unique

This essay was donated by a student and is likely to have been used and submitted before

Download this Sample

Free samples may contain mistakes and not unique parts

Sorry, we could not paraphrase this essay. Our professional writers can rewrite it and get you a unique paper.

Please check your inbox.

We can write you a custom essay that will follow your exact instructions and meet the deadlines. Let's fix your grades together!

Get Your Personalized Essay in 3 Hours or Less!

We use cookies to personalyze your web-site experience. By continuing we’ll assume you board with our cookie policy .

• Instructions Followed To The Letter
• Deadlines Met At Every Stage
• Unique And Plagiarism Free

Things Fall Apart: Okonkwo as a Tragic Hero

Alternate question: Okonkwo as a Tragic Hero in Things Fall Apart.

Okonkwo, the protagonist of Chinua Achebe ‘s novel Things Fall Apart , was tall and stout with bushy eyebrows and a wide nose on his face. He looked strict, severe and harsh. While sleeping he snored and breathed heavily. He walked on his toes, raising his heels. It looked as if he would pounce upon someone. He lacked patience, whenever he was angry, he didn’t use words rather used his fists.

Okonkwo was self made. He was wealthy and well-known throughout the nine nearby villages. His fame was by his hard work and personal achievements. His father, Unoka was a drunkard and heavily in debt, he could not provide the member of his family enough to eat. Okonkwo was in contrast to his father. Unoka was a coward, poor, idle, gentle and interested in music and wine only. Whereas, Okonkwo was brave, wealthy, violent and adamantly against music and emotions. But he often drank palm wine on auspicious occasions.

He was a man of action. When he was Young he had won fame as a great wrestler throughout nine villages. He had two barns full of yams When he married his third wife, he had displayed his courage in two inter tribal Wars and had taken two titles. He was bold and never feared of war; he could hear blood-shed. He brought first human head to home during the latest war in Umuofia and that was his fifth head.

He was a respected and trustworthy man in Umuofia He was chosen as a great messenger of war to he sent In Mbaino. There he was treated with great honour and reverence and after two days, he returned with a lad of fifteen years named Ikemefuna and a young virgin, as decided in a public meeting addressed by Ogbuefi Ezeugo.

Okonkwo has a fear that he too would be weak and a failure like his father Unoka. That was the reason; he was stem and strict towards his family. His three wives and eight children were afraid of him. He was not cruel at heart. He feared of himself lest he or his family should see evil days as his father did. He remembered how he had to cut a sorry figure when he listened from a clansman that his father was “Agbala”— a person who is like a woman.

He was a hard worker, diligent and very strong. He worked on his farms from dawn to dusk and treated it as worship. He didn’t inherit anything rather he raised in his life through constant struggle and hard work. He faced a lot of hardships from the very outset of his career. When he started farming, he went to Nwakibic who promised him to give him eight hundred yam seeds. The very year when Okonkwo took Yam seeds was the worst year for farming. It rained late and was not sufficient for a good crop. But he didn’t lose hope. Those seeds were his own; he still had eight hundred from Nwakibie and four hundred from his father’s friend. He planted again that year it rained heavily and washed away the yam. The barns were full of water which destroys the seeds. Crop was looking like a funeral. One man of his village tied his cloth to a branch of a tree and hanged himself But Okonkwo remained a fierce fighter. He said.

Since I survived that year, I shall survive anything

Then good days started, however. in his good days, became a little arrogant. He became somewhat rash, rough and haughty. In a meeting, he insulted a member and then other reprimanded him and he had to apologize. He ruled his and children with a heavy hand. If someone in the family disobeyed him he would even beat the member. Once during the week of peace, he beat his second wife and was subsequently punished by the priest of the goddess of earth, Ani.

He had a great influence of his daughter Ezinma on him. She understood the moods of her father. When he returned after killing Ikemefuna, he didn’t eat anything for three days, It was only Ezinma who prepared the food and offered him to eat. He loved her with a wish that she were a boy.

Okonkwo was a tragic hero in the classical sense. As he was superior character , well known throughout the nine villages, his tragic flaw : anger, rashness, short sightedness and violence brought his downfall. He wanted his son Nwoye to be a successful man in his life. That was the reason he treated him rashly without foreseeing that his harsh treatment might turn his son into a rebel. He never revealed his emotions. Fear of weakness or failure was also tragic flaw . He killed Ikemefuna because lie was “afraid of being weak”. When Ikemefuna came into his family, Okonkwo was very happy. Though Okonkwo loved the boy yet, he treated him in anger. It is taken for granted that it is a sign of weakness to love a child openly. He therefore treated Nwoye Ikemefuna and others with a heavy hand,

A sad accident added to his tragic end when, on Ezeudu’s funeral, a piece of iron exploded from his gun and pierced the body of Ezeudu’s sixteen years old son. It was a crime against the goddess of earth to kill a clansman. Consequently Okonkwo has to face seven years of exile in Mbanta, the native village of his mother.

He wished that he would gain the same status in Umuofia, as he enjoyed earlier. But when he returned to his village after exile, he found that missionary campaign was at the climax . He wanted to face the challenges single handed but failed to do so. Consequently, he committed suicide for his failure of saving his culture from destruction.

He was a true patriot and a flaming fire. His intense or dangerous anger has been associated with burning fire or flame. It was the only emotion that Achebe displayed in his character . As the fire destroys everything it consumes Okonkwo was both physically and emotionally destructive. Ikemefuna and Ogbuefi, Ezeudu’s son was the victim of his physical destruction. Whereas suppressing his emotions and fondness for Ezinma and Ikemefuna respectively was his emotional destruction. Just as the fire burns until it left a pile of ash. Okonkwo too burnt himself through intense rage until it destroyed him in the face of his suicide.

He was a man of iron will and he moulded his fate to the path of glory with his own efforts. He made his fortune smile on him by his constant hard work. He struggled against poverty and rose to the status of prosperity. Despite facing many hardships, he was still determined to do hard work He built three huts for his three wives separately. He became one of the lords of clan and attended the meetings of the village.

Okonkwo ended his life like a true hero for his ancestral culture and traditions. He was ambitious and a man of iron will. He fought many wars and brought human heads. He was a man of revolt but his short sightedness, anger, rashness and violence resulted his tragic end. Despite all his heroic qualities he failed to change himself according to the changed circumstances and that was one of the reasons that pushed him to take his own life.

Okonkwo ‘s Suicide : a Coward ‘s Way out

This essay about Okonkwo’s suicide in Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart examines the complexities of his character and the broader implications of his actions. It discusses how Okonkwo’s fear of failure and adherence to traditional values conflict with the transformative influences of European colonialism. The essay argues that Okonkwo’s suicide can be seen as both an act of defiance against a changing society and a perceived act of cowardice that abandons tribal and familial obligations. It highlights the cultural, personal, and symbolic layers of Okonkwo’s final decision, suggesting that his suicide represents not only his personal tragedy but also the broader theme of cultural dissolution under colonial pressure. The analysis invites readers to consider the nuanced interplay between individual agency and overwhelming cultural shifts.

How it works

In Chinua Achebe’s seminal work, Things Fall Apart , Okonkwo’s suicide serves as a poignant climax to his tragic story, provoking intense debate among scholars and readers alike. Rather than viewing his final act solely through the lens of cowardice, it’s essential to delve deeper into the complex tapestry of cultural conflict and personal turmoil that defines Okonkwo’s life.

Okonkwo, a man of great pride and status within the Umuofia tribe, navigates his existence with an overwhelming fear of failure and weakness, a theme that is deeply rooted in his father’s perceived effeminacy and incompetence.

This fear drives Okonkwo to extremes, manifesting in his rigid adherence to the old ways of his ancestors, his violent temper, and ultimately, his resistance to change.

The arrival of European colonizers and their new religion marks the beginning of an irreversible transformation in Umuofian society, a change that Okonkwo cannot reconcile with. His desperate cling to the past culminates in an act of defiance—killing a colonial messenger—which isolates him from his community as they move towards adaptation rather than confrontation. This isolation can be seen as the final blow to Okonkwo’s sense of identity and his place in the world.

Okonkwo’s decision to end his life, traditionally a profound taboo in his culture, is a complex decision layered with multiple dimensions of despair and defiance. It could be argued that his suicide is an act of ultimate defiance against the forces that have usurped his way of life and eroded the values he cherished. In this light, Okonkwo’s death is not a surrender, but a final stand against a world he no longer recognizes or belongs in.

Conversely, from the perspective of his tribe, Okonkwo’s suicide represents the ultimate act of cowardice. It is a rejection of the communal values that emphasize endurance and collective resilience in the face of adversity. By choosing to escape through death, Okonkwo abandons his familial and societal responsibilities, leaving his family to face the stigma of his action alone, which could suggest a selfish, albeit desperate, escape from a situation he sees as insurmountable.

Moreover, Okonkwo’s suicide symbolically reflects the suicide of the old ways, unable to survive in the new world order brought by colonization. It underscores the broader themes of loss, change, and the inevitability of cultural evolution, regardless of the individual will to resist such changes.

In assessing Okonkwo’s action, it’s crucial to understand the profound internal conflict he experiences, caught between his unyielding will and an evolving world. His death might be seen as an acknowledgment that his values and methods have no place in a rapidly changing society, representing a tragic recognition of his obsolescence.

Through Okonkwo’s narrative, Achebe not only critiques the destructive impact of colonialism but also invites a reflection on the complexities of human behavior when confronted with existential threats to identity and cultural heritage. Okonkwo’s life and death encapsulate a poignant message about the challenges of navigating life in a world where the rules have changed irrevocably.

In conclusion, while it’s tempting to label Okonkwo’s suicide as a coward’s way out, a closer examination reveals a much more intricate interplay of cultural disintegration, personal valor, and tragic inevitability. This act, steeped in traditional taboos yet driven by profoundly personal motivations, invites readers to reflect deeply on the themes of courage, despair, and the human condition exposed in Achebe’s narrative.

Cite this page

Okonkwo 's Suicide : A Coward 's Way Out. (2024, Apr 14). Retrieved from https://papersowl.com/examples/okonkwo-s-suicide-a-coward-s-way-out/

"Okonkwo 's Suicide : A Coward 's Way Out." PapersOwl.com , 14 Apr 2024, https://papersowl.com/examples/okonkwo-s-suicide-a-coward-s-way-out/

PapersOwl.com. (2024). Okonkwo 's Suicide : A Coward 's Way Out . [Online]. Available at: https://papersowl.com/examples/okonkwo-s-suicide-a-coward-s-way-out/ [Accessed: 18 Apr. 2024]

"Okonkwo 's Suicide : A Coward 's Way Out." PapersOwl.com, Apr 14, 2024. Accessed April 18, 2024. https://papersowl.com/examples/okonkwo-s-suicide-a-coward-s-way-out/

"Okonkwo 's Suicide : A Coward 's Way Out," PapersOwl.com , 14-Apr-2024. [Online]. Available: https://papersowl.com/examples/okonkwo-s-suicide-a-coward-s-way-out/. [Accessed: 18-Apr-2024]

PapersOwl.com. (2024). Okonkwo 's Suicide : A Coward 's Way Out . [Online]. Available at: https://papersowl.com/examples/okonkwo-s-suicide-a-coward-s-way-out/ [Accessed: 18-Apr-2024]

Don't let plagiarism ruin your grade

Hire a writer to get a unique paper crafted to your needs.

Our writers will help you fix any mistakes and get an A+!

Please check your inbox.

You can order an original essay written according to your instructions.

Trusted by over 1 million students worldwide

1. Tell Us Your Requirements

2. Pick your perfect writer

3. Get Your Paper and Pay

Hi! I'm Amy, your personal assistant!

Don't know where to start? Give me your paper requirements and I connect you to an academic expert.

short deadlines

100% Plagiarism-Free

Certified writers